steph_co

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/scar-stages-share-yours-6117/ I have five and they *seem* to be getting lighter. I had somebody see my stomach up close, not knowing my scar count and only really noticed the one right off the bat - the port scar. I'm less than 6 months out. I had to point out the other 4 - I guess they kind of look like moles or something. I happen to think they're really noticeable, but others don't think so.

I went to my seminar so long ago (October) that I can't even remember what he told me was his number for Lapbands. I want to say 400, but I could be SO wrong on that. I asked what the learning curve was and I want to say he said about 100. Again - I could be so wrong on this number, I'm just trying to remember what was told to me 6 months ago. Whatever the number was, his number compared to the learning curve sounded good to me. And by the way - GBP is a lot different from Lap Band. I would not count it as LB experience.

Huh...what a good idea. Wish I had known about this before. Didn't realize it would be an issue. But I'll tell you - I was almost in tears trying to figure out where the heck it went. LOL It was like a punch in the chest when I picked it up and the display was all cracked. Funny though - it still recorded data. LOL

Angel - I had mine pop off my waistband and get run over, but I only ran into this problem when I was wearing pants that were too big for me. Before that, a belt and proper-fitting pants kept it in place. I had it for easily 3 months. It only started the popping off thing when the pants were getting to the point where the waistband puckered when I tightened the belt. So, yeah...I'm out $200. But why couldn't you wear the AT on your arm like the BodyBugg? SURE, it says it is "best" on the waist, but I'd rather wear it on the arm and have it be more secure.

Alicia - When I did wear it, it was practically unnoticeable to me. I would really only wear it during a workout. But I imagine it's not much worse than a sports bra (if I had to think of a comparison). I didn't feel it was necessary to monitor my heart rate ALL DAY LONG. Due to the fact that I'm healthy and have a great heart rate. Only was curious to know what it was doing during workout.

I just wanted to jump in here and say that I LOVED my ActiTrainer. Then I ran over it 3 times. It is not designed for that kind of abuse. LOL Seriously - I wore that thing ALL THE TIME. I LOVED getting on to see how many calories I was burning and if I needed to kind of "up" things the following day. The running over thing was not intentional. It was my own stupid fault. I was wearing pants that were too big for me and the clip slid off the waste band and the thing fell in the frozen dirt at a construction site. Where it then proceeded to be run over by me once, a pick-up truck leaving the site a second time, and then me the third time when I went back to find the poor thing. To its credit, the display was cracked inside, but it STILL gathered info for a good couple of months after that. It finally pooped out. Poor thing. I miss it. :biggrin:

I have no problem with red meat, Pasta, rice or bread. There isn't a single food that my body has rejected and I have decent restriction. It seems to go up and down based on the time of day, weather, my mood, hormones, etc (I'm half joking.... grrr) and I could probably use a bit more fill. But I HAVE been at the point where I could only get down a cup or less of food and been full for 4-6 hours after that meal. And even at that, I could eat whatever. Just have to eat slower. But I think people in general could use a reminder to slow the heck down. DH wolfs down food like I haven't seen (but I KNOW I used to do the same thing). I'm amazed to watch other people eat because I can't believe I used to do that. I do not feel like an impostor. I did something for my health and I am having to work to get the weight OFF. Now, it does not come BACK as easily, but if I want it to get OFF, I have to do the work. It's really easy to eat around this thing. My only embarrassment, and maybe it comes from my younger days when I used to get in trouble for it, is eating so much slower than my tablemates. Then people look at me like, "WELL?? Aren't you done YET?" I find myself apologizing for it, but I guess I really shouldn't. I'd be embarrassed NOW to eat the way I see a lot of people do. Yikes.

You know you're just jealous. :biggrin: But that's okay, C, I can make you a pretty widdle gwitter picture of your own. All you have to do is ask.

Oh, this post had disappeared. I guess after the re-organize, it came back. So now I'll answer for mine. Surgeon Name: Thomas Brown Location: Lowry Medical Ctr, Denver Date of banding: Nov 15, 2007 What your surgeon closed with (sutures, glue, staples, etc): sutures How many incisions: 5 Type of band (if you know): AP small Overall cost of your surgery (if you wish to share): $10,850 And your personal review of the surgeon and his/her office and staff: Dr Brown was great. Good bedside manner, very approachable, good experience. I like the NP (Allyson) that does my fills. Their social worker that does the evals is great. The nutritionists are great. The only one I kind of hold issue with is the receptionist. She runs warm and cold. I can't say hot and cold because I've never seen her overtly warm to somebody. LOL It's like lukewarm and cold. Short on the phone. Kind of irks me, but I love the rest of the staff.

DANG, Craig! You are melting through the sizes incredibly fast. Gees. Keep up the great work!

Not losing much in the lbs dept because I'm really not eating like I should (or at least should say that I HAVEN'T been eating like I should). But have lost inches...I'm now into my men's size 32 pants for work and I look awesome if I do say so. LOL It's amazing how much better I look in these 32s than I did swimming around in the 36s I last had on. I actually have a shape! Love it. Now I'm back to eating low-carb and exercising, so hope to lose some poundage in the next 3 weeks...I have a certain goal in mind. But I'm nervous if I don't get to this life goal and I have shared it with everybody. So when I get there, I'll tell everybody. LOL It'll be great for my career and is something I've been wanting for a LONG time...could not have gotten to it without the band helping me lose the weight and keeping off what I have lost.

Now having waded through this entire thing...LOL David, you don't have to go to a totally different site to post your blog. They have that capability right here: Lap Band Talk Forum - The largest forum for Lap Band Surgery Discussion and Lap Band Surgery Support - Blogs Your number of blog posts will show up under your name, as you can see of several people on here. You can regulate comments (including disabling them). This way you can get your entire story out on THIS site, completing your initial task, and not have to deal with "blasting." If somebody blasts via PM, you can ignore them. Good luck in your endeavors.

Ohhhh...myyyyy...goooosssshhh. :eek::eek::crying::mad2::tongue::wub::biggrin: I always loved English class and did really well in it (I love to read!), but that looks absolutely HORRID. *praising God above that I never had to do that* LOL I graduated HS in 1998. :biggrin2:

WHAT...the...HELL does "diagramming a sentence" mean? Either I was doing it and never knew what it was called, or they outlawed this practice by the time I got to school. LOL

I wouldn't say this whole forum is about the glories of LapBand without mentioning complications. There is an ENTIRE forum dedicated to complications. I'm sorry to hear you've had such awful problems with it. I wish you the best of luck with everything and that everything closes up alright and you can heal up.

Shave...my...cookie.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA That's great. I love it. And oooohh, so true. LMAO! Mine hasn't changed all that much...now I'm to a 5,000 BTU air-conditioner. LOL

Hi, Molly! I've seen you around on the boards a bit and enjoy your posts. I read the one the other day about your work life. My husband used to be in the military, so I can understand where you're coming from. How terribly frustrating. I really hope that situation gets worked out. I couldn't handle it. You can do the others!! They sound great! Keep up the great work and welcome to the group!

Gees, guys. LOL I didn't realize it was necessary to take things so personal in the R&R section. This thread is hilarious...every time it comes up! Honestly, seeing threads like this, it seems quite clear to me that it's kind of like a suggestion - if you want better/more responses, how about you try typing a thought clearly? As for me, I have ADD big time and it takes the most extreme amount of concentration I can muster to try and follow a massive 1,000 word paragraph with no punctuation. If I have to re-read more than once, I leave the thread. I don't think I'm alone, there. :smile2: I have a hard enough time concentrating long enough on posts that are considerate of other people trying to read them. I'm sure as hell not going to put forth extra effort to wade through your post if you can't take the extra effort to try punctuation and NEW paragraphs every once in awhile. Absolutely, somebody is entitled to leave the thread if they don't like it. Just know that if your thread sucks, that is exactly what'll happen. BTW - YAY, GLITTER! LMAO I wish I could pass out little bags of glitter so we could all be so F'in glittery.

You continue to be in my thoughts, Kendra. I was so happy to hear the good news about the shrinking tumor! I continue to kick, stomp, and jump up and down on it! That is such fantastic news.

Oh GEES...I hope that doesn't happen to me. I got Lapband in November and then Lasik in January. *yikes* LOL That's great news for you, though! How cool is that??

I'm nutty as a fruitcake and I survived the psych-eval. As long as you have a grip on yourself and have reasonable expectations and can present a concrete goal to take care of any psych problems (like eating for comfort - which I DO), that's what they usually look for. Really depends on the psych in question - they're all different. But really, you may want to consider looking into counselors in your area that you could talk to after the surgery -whether it gets recommended to you or not. Oh...I did want to add. I think I did tear up a couple times with stuff she asked me about my past. But I have a pretty good grip on what my issues are and I have a goal to get them handled or am in the process of doing something about them already.

I'm only very rarely ever stuffed anymore. I just don't let it get there. Because stuffed with the band HURTS, IMO. I kind of hiccup when my body is getting full (but not stuffed). I sit for a couple minutes to decide if I truly am full. If I am, the food is done for. If I can still eat more, then I take it really slowly...take a bite and then wait another couple minutes.

I knew there was a reason I liked you, FaithMD. :thumbup:

HECK, YES. Guys are checking me out and trying to chat me up. LOL I work night security and occasionally have to kick half-naked guys out of hot tubs. So I can SEE what they look like. LOL They are good looking guys. I do not act any different than I did when I was heavy, but they ask me questions now...like if I'm going to a local concert. Seriously...all I do is tell them the hot tub is closed and then stand by waiting for them to get out. They want to have conversations with me, now. I also have noticed that some girls are colder to me. I notice that clients I deal with now seem to talk to me now like I actually know something. LOL I get approached all the time on the street, now, by people asking me for directions. I swear I am not any different in my attitude and I am not wearing anything different (other than just smaller sizes).